we should place. we should give something back a [we ys place. we should give something back always remember, never forget... forever manchester. choose love, manchester, thank you. cheering and applause high pressure the poet tony walsh. i will be back in halfan the poet tony walsh. i will be back in half an hour. now, it's time to join the bbc‘s news teams where you are. tonight, manchester is a city in mourning, a vigil held here for 22 victims of a senseless attack at a teenager's pop concert. good evening and welcome to a special edition of north west tonight. victims of the senseless terror attack. among them an eight—year—old girl from lancashire watching a concert for the first time. the school announced that

georgina callander had been confirmed, that she passed away last night and then tarleton, another one down the road, so within four miles, two young girls have died. the moment a suicide bomber brought chaos and heartbreak to concert—goers on a spring evening. this has been the most horrific incident we have ever faced this has been the most horrific incident we have everfaced in greater manchester and one we all hoped we would never see, families and many young people were out to enjoy a concert at manchester arena and have very sadly lost their lives. the bomber died at the scene. but police have made a second arrest on a day of rapid developments in the investigation. and we'll hear the stories of community spirit and kindness — as the region pulls together to help those caught up in the attack. the region pulls together to help

those caught the people of manchester have been here in their thousands. holding a vigil in memory of the 22 people that were killed and the 59 who were injured in that senseless terror attack, at a teenager's pop concert attack, at a teenager's pop concert at manchester arena last night. among those who were killed, the youngest to be named so far, eight yea rs youngest to be named so far, eight years old, saffie rose roussos, primary schoolgirl, attending a pop concert for the very first time, she travelled from her home in west lancashire to manchester, to watch the performance. we will look back at the horrific events in the next few minutes as well as the police

investigation and the defiant spirit of the city. but first naomi cornwell reports of the tragic story of the victims. three young music fans who went to a concert and never came home. the first of the 22 victims to be named. the west lancashire village of ta rleton feels a world away from the big city. but the effects of last night's attack are being felt deeply here. today, this community is reeling from the loss of two girls. saffie roussos is the youngest victim to be named. just eight years old. today, the headteacher of her primary school described her as a beautiful little girl who was loved by everyone and whose warmth and kindness will be remembered fondly. the school has called in specialist support to help pupils cope with the news. georgina callander also lived in the area. friends described her as a superfan of ariana grande. she'd met the singer before. it's devastating, my daughter left

for school at 8:30am, and i wasjust praying that nobody from her school was involved, around 11am, the school announced georgina callander had been confirmed, that she had passed away last night, and then another one in tarlton. came in last week, before she went on holiday, it is horrible. can't believe it. georgina had been studying health and social care in leyland. today, runshaw college offered its deepest sympathies, thoughts and prayers to all of georgina's family, friends, and those affected. she was a former youth player with bolton wanderers football club. she was a passionate football in the under 11s team she was a passionate football in the underiis team and she was a passionate football in the under 11s team and played for us in 2010. for her to have lost her life in these circumstances in isjust a terrible thing. our love and our

prayers go out to her family and our support. this afternoon, tributes were also being paid online tojohn atkinson, from radcliffe, near bury. described by friends as "an amazing young man". across the region, otherfamilies are still awaiting news of their loved ones. among them, 15—year—old olivia campbell from ramsbottom. alison howe and lisa lees, two mums from royton who'd gone to pick up their children from the arena. and 29—year—old martin hett from stockport. his family's been unable to contact him since the concert. anyone worried a relative could have been caught up in the attack should call greater manchester police on 0800 096 0095. the full horror of the atrocity became apparent around 10.30 last night. thousands of ariana granda fans pouring out of the arena. jubilation from the concert turned to devastation at the doorway. it was a scene of panic and confusion, death and horror on a virtually unprecedented scale. one of the first reporters there was clare fallon — she joins us now from the scene. 17,000 people inside the arena, from the details we have been given, it seems like this was an attack that was designed to cause maximum devastation, designed to kill as many people as possible and i say

that because of the timing. this man didn't make it into the arena itself, he was in the lobby, he waited for the concert to come to an end, for people to begin pouring out to go home. of course, some of those people did not make it home because of the attack. girl humming song oh, my god. what's going on? the sound of fear filled the arena as people ran. families separated in the rush. the response was quick. and the enormity of what had happened soon became clear. did you get a sense of what it was, it was an explosion? did you get a sense of...? yes, definitely an explosion, because there's nuts

and bolts everywhere. really? yeah, there are nuts and bolts everywhere. so you think this was some kind of deliberate... yes, of course it was. not accidental. yeah, definitely targeted. as we were coming out the door, we just heard the explosion behind us. and then, what, you ran? we just ran, yeah. we didn't know what it was. with so many people hurt — some of them catastrophically — inside the arena and victoria station, paramedics treated the survivors. outside, a father's sheer relief. having seen things no adult — let alone child — should ever see, amelia told me she's one of the lucky ones. suddenly, like, something really hot just flew over us and landed behind me and my mum and my sister and we all, like, dropped to the floor. obviously, my wife's injured and my daughter's injured.

my sister's really bad. no, i think she's all right. i think she's got some cuts and stuff like that. as night turned to morning, more ambulances arrived to treat the seemingly endless number of injured. they were taken to eight hospitals across greater manchester. many more counted their blessings. it was a stampede, really, so we just got out as quick as we could. that was it. we just saw injured people, people on the floor, and just got as far away as we could. and what kind of injuries did you see? saw one fella carrying his daughter and she were bleeding. people on the floor bleeding. so we just got away, so we didn't see much. people on the floor bleeding. so we just got away, so we didn't see much. you must have been... i mean with two young kids... they were terrified. they were hysterical, these two, so i had to get out. as parents held their children that bit closer, i watched as one small girl was led away by a police officer. we were warned this could happen. and yet it still seems unimaginable.

the thing i have noticed in manchester last night and in the aftermath of the attack and also during the day today is the response of people to each other. i have seen people walking down the street smiling at each other. in some ways, thatis smiling at each other. in some ways, that is an attempt to show some kind of humanity after such an appalling atrocity was committed here last night. let's get this report from peter marshall on the effort to help all those who were ended in yesterday's bomb attack. they were faced with wave after wave of seriously injured children and adults. eight hospitals across greater manchester — 300 ambulance staff — all called on to help treat the 59 casualties taken by ambulance for treatment. 12 seriously injured

under 16—year—olds went to manchester child ren's hospital. nine patients to manchester royal infirmary. six to salford royal's trauma centre. five other hospitals also treated the injured. at salford, i met 13—year—old amber. i was terrified. she was at the concert last night and escaped injury — but she was here to visit her father, who was hit by the blast while waiting outside to collect her. just after the concert finished and the lights went on, we started to walk down the stairs with my friend and we just heard a really loud bang and all of a sudden, everybody started running. they evacuated everywhere and i couldn't find my dad. i think he's broke his leg and done something to his head. we have had confirmation from the family members inside that he has come out of his operation this morning and they are about to wake him up. the emergency services train and train for awful incidents such as this, yet all would agree that no level of preparation can take away the sorrow and pain when something as awful as this happens for real. their professionalism and dedication in helping all of those caught up in the tragedy has been highly praised.

the emergency services had tested their response to such a terrorist incident as recently as a month ago. we sent 60 vehicles to the site, along with highly specialised crews, highly specialised teams, that are able to stabilise patients at the scene, ensure they received the right treatment at the scene before evacuation to the hospital. clearly, there are a number of individuals who have very, very serious injuries and requiring intensive care and people who are going to be in hospital for a long time. you can imagine what injuries there might be through such a terrible, terrible device being detonated in a crowded space space and i wouldn't like to detail the injuries that we saw last night. as the police investigation has been

going on throughout the day to try to establish exactly what happened, we now know the name of the bomber. but who help him? where did he get his bomb? these questions have to be answered. this is elsmore wrote in the follow your district of manchester. police activity here today has occurred here and other parts in the south of the city. to call it a fast—moving police investigation may seem like a cliche, but that is exactly what it has been. this morning at 11 o'clock in chawton, we saw a 23—year—old man arrested. then this afternoon in the past half—hour, police named the bomber as salman abedi, who is 22, just the latest part of this investigation. this street in fallowfield one of several that received an unexpected visit from arned police this morning as the investigation into last night's outrage gathered pace. just heard a big, like, boom, it was like a muffled boom and then we ran outside and everyone on my avenue came out in a panic, because we have a lot of kids that

are in the school across the road. that bang was later confirmed by the police to be a controlled explosion. i was shaking. everyone was panicking, i seen them all running out and there were police and forces running down this way. the police had quickly identified who they believed was responsible for the the attack, but they weren't in any hurry to make the name public. the police and security services believe they know the identity of the perpetrator, but at this stage of their investigations, we cannot confirm his name. and the reason for that — they needed to know whether others had helped the killer plan his attack. to make the name public too quickly could tip off possible accomplices. david anthony was head of specialist operations with greater manchester police for several years. he says the priority for his former colleagues will be to gather as much information about the bomber as possible and as quickly as possible. is he part of a network? is he part of a network within this country, within the manchester area ?

further wide in the uk? or is he internationally sponsored? and so the morning saw extensive police activity in the suburbs of manchester. a man of 23 arrested by armed police on a supermarket car park in chorlton at around 11. they dragged someone on the floor, on the pavement, across the road. and i've seen all of them screaming, shouting and i've seen a few of them kicking this man on the floor and they cuffed him. soon afterwards, more raids in the whalley range and fallowfield areas. at lunchtime, the prime minister arrived at gmp headquarters for a briefing from chef constable ian hopkins and his senior officers. then late this afternoon, the name of the bomber was finally confirmed. i can confirm that the man suspected of carrying out last night's atrocity is 22—year—old salman abedi. however, he has not yet been formally named by the coroner and i wouldn't wish to therefore

to comment any further about him at this stage. so in less than 2a hours, the police believe they know who was responsible for all this. the big questions they must now answer — how did he do it and did anyone help him? 0f of course, this investigation is being headed by greater manchester police and the north—west counterterrorism unit, but they are working with counterterrorism authorities from across the country because of course, there are try to find out whether this man was part ofa find out whether this man was part of a network either here in the north—west or further afield. the police are also asking for anybody who has video or photographs that they took in manchester last night to upload them to a special website that they are now running. from fallowfield, back to annabel. the vigil in albert square started at six o'clock this evening. so many

people were here, you couldn't get through the crowds. people are here because they wanted to be. one woman tapped me on the shoulder looking emotional and she said, this is so awful, isn't it? and she's right. there are no words to describe it. i am joined now by a few people that we re am joined now by a few people that were not involved last night, but felt they wanted to be here tonight. mohammed, why did you want to come? i had to show my solidarity with the people. an overwhelming amount of people. an overwhelming amount of people came today. we are just u nfortu nate people came today. we are just unfortunate that it happened to our town. but solidarity will defeat the ideology, because manchester is a bighearted town and we will come back stronger from bighearted town and we will come back strongerfrom this. bighearted town and we will come back stronger from this. this city will recover. it has recovered before and it will again. definitely. when we had the ira bombing here a few years ago, the community got together and we will build again. you heard the speech today. we felt motivated. everybody was putting their arms around each

other. everybody felt something. abigail, at times there was some spontaneous applause. every race, genderand spontaneous applause. every race, gender and sexuality were there. that is a good point, there are people of all faiths here. that is a good point, there are people of all faiths herelj that is a good point, there are people of all faiths here. i was born and bred in manchester and as a muslim, i thought it was very important to attend and show solidarity not just for the important to attend and show solidarity notjust for the victims of the tragic event yesterday, but to show unity between the muslims, christians, wham! and all the faiths to show that we are all inhumanity. thank you very much. last night and throughout the day, we have been hearing incredible stories of bravery and kindness amid the terror and the horror of last night, people just wanted to help. the people of the city wanted to help last night.

now a report on the kindness of manchester. a hug that says it all. celia's granddaughter ella is back home, safe in garstang. when so many others aren't. there were kids running out of the door crying, so we got proper scared. we all started screaming. we moved away from the doors and there was blood splattered on the floor and there were bags on the floor. it was ella's first concert without her parents, now remembered for all the wrong reasons. sangakkara it was sheer panic in her voice, mum, where are you? a bomb has gone off. at that point, you look around and there were parents the same as me, clutching their phones to their ears, heading towards the men. and there were children running away in tears and you knew something bad had happened. the concert was packed with children and teenagers. throughout the day, more tales of incredible escapes and frantic searches for loved ones.

i got thrown quite a bit. my ears popped. the noise was horrendous. the floor shook. when i got up, there were bodies everywhere. i had to look at people lying on the floor seriously hurt in case it was my family. his wife and daughter escaped unharmed. liverpool mayor steve rotheram's two children were also at the gig. they had to shelter in a hotel before a taxi driver took them home for free. we saw a man with blood on his face. then we realised it was really serious. we could smell smoke and as we got outside, there were police and everyone was crying. it was panic. no one understood what was going on. people were crying, try to find out where their friends or relatives were. so we were trying to stay calm, but really panicking at the same time. i got the dreaded conversation that everybody fears, and that is "don't panic, but..."

that but seemed to last a long time she said the girls were safe. ella has spent the day reassuring friends. she's still scared, but is painfully aware tonight she's one of the lucky ones. we heard in the aftermath of last night's bomb attack the stories of how the people of manchester came together, taxi drivers offering people free lift home if they needed them. hotels and homeowners opening their doors to those who needed a room for the night. stuart flinders has the story of how a city refused to be cowed by the terrorists and how it is pulling together. it looked normal. but everywhere, signs that something was different. the armed patrols. the broadcasters from around the world... this city is sombre this morning. ..and closer to home. the sense of shock, and i mentioned this very early on, is palpable. you can feel it and how it has affected people.

i do, though, get that spirit of, look, you know, we will get together. this is dreadful, but we will work our way through this. that sense of everybody pulling together was spontaneous. starting with the taxi firm determined to help families get home safely. i reached out to my drivers and i asked them, right, guys, we need to help the people of manchester and if that means that we have to give them free taxis, would you be up for it? and a round of applause to my drivers, they all responded brilliantly. this family saw things normally witnessed only on a battlefield. the journey back to scotland had to wait until this afternoon while the driver recovered her composure. it's not sunk in. it's terrible. i still can't get over it. she's been crying ever since yesterday, she's in shock. she's not slept all night. i'm in shock myself. others were stranded for much of the day. this is the back of the arena,

the car park, and many of the cars you can see their belong to people who were at the concert last night who were expecting to drive home afterwards, but, immediately, this area was put out of bounds and some of those people were left stranded in manchester. they made their way to this hotel, where staff took pity on them and gave them a room for the night for free. a little act of charity. there were moments of kindness everywhere today. ijust thought, i can't sit here and do nothing and it was better to be out here helping the emergency services, thejournalists, the public. there you go, look at that. kindess. and determination. these visitors from leicester weren't going to give up their guided tour of manchester. it reminds you of the arndale centre and the bombing then. our first stop this morning was near the ira bomb in the arndale centre, so knowing that, it was a even more of a shock. did it make you think twice about carrying on with the tour? no.

why not? because in britain, you carry on as usual. it may be that those responsible for the atrocity claim to have acted in the name of islam. but muslims at manchester's central mosque were having none of it. i've been saying this all morning and i'm saying it again, the core definition from the noble prophet muhammad is that a believer is one who keeps all other people safe. the world has manchester in its prayers. its people have responded to an evil act by refusing to be changed by it. stuart flinders, bbc north west tonight, manchester. one person who knows better than anybody that this city will not be beaten and will stay strong as councillor pat carney. thank you for joining us. i said to some people down there that the city will recover, and it will, won't it? this is the biggest crowd i have seen in albert square. people were determined to turn up to show the

families that we care about them and to show the rest of the world that the evil that came to manchester would be rejected. we will not cower against that even though. we will carry on our values in manchester. if you look at the crowd here, it is a great manchester crowd. what is your message? it is a multicultural city with many different faiths. what would be your message to the people of manchester tonight, some of whom will feel angry? when we get through the tears and the grief, and there will be a lot of tears and grief with funerals coming up, we will show that manchester's values of mutual respect and peace, exemplified in this crap tonight, this is worth fighting for. we will get beyond the tears and grief and we will get to what manchester is brilliant at — fighting and standing up brilliant at — fighting and standing upfor brilliant at — fighting and standing up for itself and bouncing back. brilliant at — fighting and standing up for itself and bouncing backlj spoke to a lady who lost her granddaughter. the pain is

unbearable. thank you very much, pat karney. that's it from us tonight. thank you for watching on a night that manchester will never forget. good night. and taxed to the bbc north west tonight team for that programme from manchester. as we have been hearing, this attack seemingly targeted children and was calculated to cause distress. the bombing has presented pa rents distress. the bombing has presented parents with the difficult task of explaining the attack to their children, and it has also challenged the media on how to cover the news for younger audiences. the media on how to cover the news foryoungeraudiences. our collea g u es foryoungeraudiences. our colleagues at cbbc have produced some advice. there has been a serious attack in manchester. it happened at a concert by singer ariana grande. some people lost their lives and others have been injured. many more people came

to help, offering those who with their lifts home and places to stay. orjust some comfort. when things like this happen, it's totally normal to feel upset and worried. to think things like, why did this happen? could this happen to me? could this happen to my family and friends? isaf? was important to remember is that although events like this are very sad, they are also rare. worrying stories are often in the news because they don't happen very often, so what should you do if you're feeling sad or anxious? talk about it. you can speak to your parents, a teacher or an adult you can trust. they can reassure you and help you feel better. and remember, when things like this happen, most people are there to help. that video was produced by our collea g u es that video was produced by our colleagues at cbbc newsround. we can now return to george alagiah in manchester.

welcome back. below me, some of the thousands of people have begun to leave albert square after holding a vigil. it isjust leave albert square after holding a vigil. it is just one of the many ways the city is committed to terms with what happened. there was a determination for mancunians to come together and stay together. the newly elected mayor of manchester said the city will show its true spirit. our cities cannot live in constant fear of terror. however much part of life it has become. so when the night is torn by violence, there is shock. there is strength and there are questions. today, we asked the mancunians we met to speak directly

to the rest of britain. when is it going to end? it's incredibly sad. our way of life is being controlled by it now, as much as we don't want it to be. we are such a united city, and it's quite harrowing to think what happened last night. it's devastating. young people fell victim to it and it's really horrible. you wouldn't expect it anywhere, but manchester is such a welcoming place and everyone is friendly. it's a beautiful place. you don't expect things like that to happen here. makes use get that first, but you just realise you can't let the fear win. and you get on with it. you thank the emergency services for all they have done. it's manchester, life goes on. manchester was quiet today. yet also a place of emphatic declaration.

allah, we ask that you allow the perpetrators of this evil action, bring them tojustice. perpetrators of this evil action, bring them to justice. it's hard. if i had one of the victims' fathers or somebody who has lost their daughter or 5011 somebody who has lost their daughter or son in yesterday's attack and i am saying to him, look, george, alan, whoever, this is nothing to do with muslims, and yet he knows that the person who did it adhered to a so—called faith, it's hard to talk toa so—called faith, it's hard to talk to a person like that and say this is nothing to do with the faith. i am saying to people publicly and privately, we have to distance our faith from these barbaric terrorists. they are criminals with criminal mindsets. people here already knew what it meant to face and recover from terrorist violence. an ira bomb ever stated manchester city centre in 1996. three years earlier in nearby warrington, an ira bomb killed three—year—old jonathan

ball and 12—year—old tim parry. tim's father colin became a peace campaigner, but today he was thinking of the inexpressible burden of pa re nts' thinking of the inexpressible burden of parents' grief. losing a child is the most awful event in anybody‘s life. there's no easy way to say you will one day get over it and recover, because you might not. the feelings are deep. there are almost animal—like. you just lock everything down. you go inside yourself. the fact that terrorism is pa rt yourself. the fact that terrorism is part of the collective memory of this city does nothing to reduce the sense of raw shock felt here today. but manchester's past experience does remind us of the resilience of democracies in the face of terrorist campaigns, and of the strength of the bonds of community. after terror attacks, the word defiance is often

used. there is that here. to communal sense of grief that is both profound. huw edwards will be back here with the latest from the bbc‘s news at ten. before we go, i will leave you with some of the images from a day of emotion, defiance and solidarity. goodbye. always remember, never forget. forever manchester. choose love, manchester. thank you. temperatures are set to climb even

higher over the next few days. we had a beautiful blue skies. it was quite muggy under the cloud in the south—east of england here at walton on thames in surrey. some of that cloud in the south—east melted away overnight. we still have cloud coming into northern ireland and scotland, with a little rain and drizzle coming from that. and not only do we have low cloud there, but low cloud coming back towards wales and the south—west of england through the english channel. clearer skies for eastern england, but quite a warm night. let's head into wednesday morning. we start off quite cloudy across a good part of wales to the english channel. a bit misty over the hills. some early sunshine across the south—east and east anglia. a bit cloudier for the north—west of england. the thickest cloud will be across the north—west of scotland, where we still have pockets of rain and drizzle. that

will peter out through the day. conditions improve here and were left with just a few showers in the afternoon. generally, it's a dry story. areas that start off sonny will see more cloud and areas that start off cloudy was the sunshine developing. all in all, there will be some sunshine at times. dry conditions everywhere. later in the week, not only does it stay dry, but week, not only does it stay dry, but we get more sunshine and that will help to lift the temperatures. we could see some quite hot weather arriving by friday and into saturday. this is thursday and with high pressure sitting of the uk, we are tending to break up that cloud and allow more sunshine to develop. so temperatures will be rising across the board. the position of the high pressure will be crucial. it allows weather fronts to approach from the south—west. we are also drawing in airfrom the near

co nsta nt. drawing in airfrom the near constant. through friday, we get the sunnier skies and for many of us, that continues into saturday and the warmth really develops. 30 degrees is quite likely. towards the west, the chance of thundery showers.